STEVE JOHNSON, CHRIS SEARLE and TONY BURKE review new releases from Steve Knightley, Jupiter & Okwess, Jason Palmer, Lisa Knapp and Gerry Driver, Kin'Gongolo Kiniata, Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey, Dan Sealey, Simin Tande, PAZ
Latest editorial
Shaping up to greatness
Guillermo del Toro's surreal love story marks him out as a film-maker on the road to outstanding achievement, says MARIA DUARTE
The Shape of Water
Back from a mini tour of Yorkshire and Stockport and cheering for supporting act Indignation Meeting
ALISTAR FINDLAY is mesmerised by this multiple ‘Visions of Scotland’ assault on the audience’s eyes and senses
The Star's critics ANGUS REID, ANDY HEDGECOCK and MICHAL BONCZA reviews I Am Love, The Penguin Lessons, Freaky Tales, The Thicket
MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about the direction of a play centered on a DVLA re-training session for three British-Pakistani motorists
STEVE JOHNSON, CHRIS SEARLE and TONY BURKE review new releases from Steve Knightley, Jupiter & Okwess, Jason Palmer, Lisa Knapp and Gerry Driver, Kin'Gongolo Kiniata, Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey, Dan Sealey, Simin Tande, PAZ
Peter Mitchell's photography reveals a poetic relationship with Leeds
The Shape of Water (15)
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
LITTLE could Guillermo del Toro's six-year-old self have imagined that his discovery of the Creature from the Black Lagoon and subsequent love of monsters would one day result in an Oscar-nominated cinematic wonder.
Creepy yet delightfully charming and touching, The Shape of Water is a spellbinding and visually arresting adult fairytale set in the US in 1962 against the backdrop of the cold war and it's on a par with his great works such as Pan's Labyrinth, Cronos and The Devil's Backbone.
Del Toro, who co-wrote and directed, combines the classic monster horror genre with film noir and encases it in a powerful love story with a musical number reminiscent of The Singing Detective thrown in.
More from this author
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Sebastian, Four Mothers, Restless, and The Most Precious of Cargoes
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends a drama that explores the formative years of Richard Burton’s life
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends a deliciously dark thriller that explores the complex loyalties within a marriage
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE review Cottontail, Memoir of a Snail, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, and Captain America: Brave New World
